The Institute of Business Ethics notes: “Building an ethical culture is essential for long-term success and positive societal impact in today’s dynamic business landscape. At the core of achieving this goal lies ethics training…”
Harvard Business Review agrees. “Ethical learning doesn’t happen by rote. Employers should foster an environment that encourages workers to become more ethical by practicing moral reflection.”
However, the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership states, “Too often, ethics training can be boring and ineffective.”
The Trouble With Training
Like most professionals, I am required to take ethics courses as part of my professional development. Despite some excellent speakers, I felt the courses didn’t foster ethical thinking.
Sometimes, the stories were fascinating. Tales of illegal acts and the resulting fall from grace. I knew they were intended to be cautionary tales, but I couldn’t help thinking, “What did this have to do with me?” Those folk were not like me; they were motivated by greed. I wouldn’t do anything so clearly wrong or illegal.
And then there are the courses that focus on the code of professional conduct or company code of ethics. While occasionally, they clarified the intent of these codes, the focus was on the rules and not an ethical mindset.
Academic Courses Won’t Help
As an academic, I was tremendously disappointed by how ethics was integrated into accounting textbooks. Usually, there is a paragraph or two. Textbook questions are often under the heading “ethics,” a clear indication of what will come. The questions are variations on one theme – you’ve been asked to do something “sketchy.” Should you do it? (The answer lies in the code, and the answer is always no.) What should you do? (Talk to your supervisor, escalate through the chain of command, and ultimately quit.) Even the students rolled their eyes. Even when the questions were more nuanced, they did not lend itself to a fulsome discussion. This is partly because accounting professors are usually not trained in discussing ethical dilemmas.
I was surprised that many people told me making ethical decisions was easy. Do the right thing; it’s just common sense. With hindsight, we judge other people, people who are not like us.
When I talked to people in philosophy or social sciences departments, they were much more interested in ethics and all the philosophers. They were primarily interested in discussing the big, theoretical questions.
I knew there had to be a better way.
Right Versus Wrong
Over time and after much research, I found that when people took the time to consider ethics from a practical perspective, when they could put themselves into the story and relate to another person’s behavior, they began to feel and discuss the issues differently.
When we observe other people’s behavior, we often think, “That was just wrong.” But from an ethical perspective, there are three ways to be wrong.
One way is what we can refer to as a societal wrong. That is widely believed to be wrong – in our place and time. It is closely aligned with manners. But in our multi-generational, multicultural workplaces, the universality of “societal wrong” doesn’t hold up. We cannot expect our employees to all have the same sense of right and wrong that we might.
Of course, we agree that something is wrong if it is against the law, and we extend that to our policies and written rules. But the best-written codes cannot anticipate every situation, and sometimes, we need to consider the law’s intent and the circumstances we face. Just because something is against the law does not automatically mean it is unethical. Conversely, something can be legal and unethical.
Finally, something is wrong if it departs from the truth. When we recognize political doublespeak or spin, when we receive partial answers to questions, we understand it is a departure from the truth. The truth is complete, accurate, and relevant.
Recently, the Canadian Minister of Finance addressed criticisms regarding an increase in income tax on the sale of vacation properties. Her answer was to point out that young people cannot afford to buy their first home, so taxpayers shouldn’t complain about extra tax on a second home. Her response had truth in it, but it was utterly irrelevant.
Sometimes, we have been trained to “put a spin on it” to present information in the best light possible. We often reward clever over direct and honest.
The Solution
Understanding that we confront ethical issues daily allows us to think more critically about seemingly unimportant decisions. Being mindful of our code of conduct and finding an ethics lens can make decisions more thoughtful. Organizations can help create an environment that encourages moral reflection.
The first step is training, which makes ethics relevant and relatable and provides practical, actionable tools.
Next, ethics should be integrated non-judgemental into regular meetings and decision processes.
We are all good people. When we discuss issues using critical thought and an ethics lens, we recognize that often, there is more than one correct answer, and we must decide.
When we practice moral reasoning with simple everyday issues, when we discuss decisions and include an ethics lens, we build a habit for life—a habit that benefits our daily lives, our businesses, and society.
